Reviews

Dead Space

Videogames aren't just about great stories (although having a good plot certainly helps). Luckily, Dead Space shines brightly in both controls and user interface. Isaac may lumber clumsily along at the game's outset, belabored by cumbersome engineering gear, but this underscores his nature as a non-action hero. Of course, acquiring new equipment upgrades also boosts mobility, so you eventually get serious responsiveness. You just have to work for it.

Isaac's host of cobbled-together weapons and abilities provides more than enough methods for dealing with his widely varying circumstances. What is surprising is that Dead Space doesn't insist on making you kill everything if you'd prefer to simply dash to your objectives... of course, you'd be depriving yourself of the fun of eviscerating some truly horrific monstrosities, but it's nice to know that you can skate past enemies when you really want to.

Augmenting Isaac's trove of energy-projecting blasters, most of which focus on delivering scythes of sizzling plasma, are his ancillary abilities: his stasis field and his telekinetic kinesis module. The stasis module temporarily freezes objects and enemies, slowing them down briefly so that you can slink by or put serious hurt on them. Stasis is mandatory for assaulting some enemies, and highlights a design philosophy rooted in variation.

Meanwhile, the kinesis module can be used in a surprising number of ways and although they may not all be apparent from the very start, you will come to rely on it heavily by the end. Or maybe you won't, because Dead Space gives you the freedom to decide on how you want to approach each encounter. If you're running low on ammo, however, the kinesis module is a life saver thanks to its ability to hurl objects (especially the dismembered claws of slain aliens) at lethal velocity.

Even though Dead Space's core combat mechanic trumpets "strategic dismemberment" as its primary methodology, you don't necessarily have to be a precise surgeon. While blowing off alien limbs definitely pays big dividends in terms of ammunition conservation (enemies go down faster when you take them apart piece by piece), simply blasting away at center mass gets the job done as well. Still, if you really want to see what Dead Space does best, you'll take the time to line up your shots properly and vivisect your foes. The gore factor is immensely gruesome and entertaining.

If you really love seeing things splatter, Isaac's melee attacks are satisfyingly savage. By no means the fastest method of dispatching aliens, melee stomps and swipes provide a feeling of real mass as Isaac grunts and swings his weapon in an exaggerated arc, demonstrating a little extra follow-through because he simply isn't strong enough to stop his swing once he gets it going. One of our favorite ways to conserve precious ammunition is to take the legs of a bipedal alien out and then run up and stomp it... fewer wasted rounds with a little extra gore? Great.